1. Easter Sunday

    Acts 10:34a, 37-43
    Ps. 118
    Col. 3: 1-4
    Jn 20:1-9

    Alleluia! He is Risen!

     Everything is gonna be Okay so rejoice and be glad

    Beloved in Christ, have you all heard about Fr. Ray Kelly, the priest who sang at the wedding for the couple and has become a star on YouTube? He has inspired Fr. Jon and I so we are going to learn some songs so that we can sing for all our couples during their weddings. However, before I mess up somebody’s wedding, I will try the songs with you because I know you will always forgive me. Song: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.
    Beloved in Christ, our responsorial psalm today tells us to rejoice and be glad because this is the day the Lord has made. Our Lord Jesus is risen. Last night at the Vigil Mass, we baptized our brothers and sister into new life in Christ. After each baptism, as the newly baptized was coming out of the water, the entire assembly sang: Alleluia. Beloved, that is who we are. St. Augustine says we are Easter People and Alleluia is our song. Alleluia means Praise the Lord. That is the song that the angels sung at the dawn of creation. It is the song they sung when Christ rose from the dead and made all things new. Alleluia is the song the angels and saints in Heaven sing everyday, and it is the song that they will continue to sing for all eternity. Pope Benedict XVI describes it as the song of all creation, the song that will never end. That is the song, the praise of God that our responsorial psalm calls on us to sing.
    Beloved, our scriptural readings today mention two things that can prevent us form experiencing the joy of the resurrection. Our first and second readings remind us that sin can prevent us from experiencing the joy and the power of the resurrection so we have to get rid of sin and strive to live a new life in Christ. And St. Peter tells us that if sin is taking your joy in life away, ask the risen Lord for help. He has the power to transform your life and bring you the joy of the new life.
    Our gospel reading tells us that the problems in our live can also prevent us from experiencing the joy of the resurrection. Yes, Jesus is risen but life was still dark for Mary Magdalene that Sunday morning when she went to the tomb. She did not feel the joy of the resurrection that morning when she went to the tomb because she was still focusing on the problems of her life, the dead of her friend and savior. So her attitude towards the resurrection was not one of joy but suspicion. She told Peter and John that somebody had stolen the body of Jesus. Perhaps you are like Mary Magdalene. Perhaps you are also overshadowed by the problems of your life. You are worried about school problems, family problems, broken relationships, broken dreams, sickness, lost of a dear one, or prayers that have not been answered. Perhaps these problems are making you suspicious and doubtful about whether life will be better even after the resurrection.
    I want to echo the words of Jesus to his disciples after the resurrection: Do not be afraid. Yes, beloved, do not be afraid. Don’t let any darkness in your life take your joy away. Invite Christ to shine in your heart and your life to bring you the joy of his resurrection. Do not be afraid to sing Alleluia. Yes, Jesus is risen today, everything gonna be okay, Alleluia, Alleluia!!!!!  

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  2. Holy Thursday: Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper

    Ex. 12: 1-8, 11-14
    Ps. 116
    1 Cor. 11:23-26
    Jn. 13:1-15


    Living a Eucharistic life demands not only the ability to say I love you;

    but also the humility to say I am sorry.
    Beloved in Christ, tonight we celebrate our God as a God who saves. Tonight we begin the Holy Triduum, which is a three-day celebration of the Passion, the Death, and Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We begin the celebration with the institution of the Sacraments of the Holy Eucharist and the Holy Priesthood. As St. Paul tells us in the second reading, before Jesus was crucified, he took bread and wine and changed those into his Holy Body and Blood for us, his disciples. Why was it important for Jesus to do that? Why is the Eucharist important in our lives?
    The Eucharist is Jesus’s way of helping his disciples to make the sacrifice of the Cross-their own. Literally speaking, the body that hanged on the cross on Good Friday was not that of the disciples. It was not their blood, it was not my blood, it was not your blood that was poured out on Calvary. So how does that Sacrifice become yours and mine? How does Jesus’ Sacrifice take away my sin? How does it take away your sin? In John 6: 56 Jesus told his disciples “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood will live in me and I will live in him.” So, by giving them the Eucharist, Jesus was joining his body and those of the disciples together and mixing his blood with those of the disciples so that as he hanged on the Cross, it would also be the disciples hanging on the cross sacramentally; as he poured out his blood, it will be the disciples pouring out their blood. It is in this sacramental way that Jesus’ death on the cross becomes my death and your death, and his resurrection, becomes my resurrection and your resurrection.
    Beloved, don’t you think we should clap for Jesus? Don’t you think he is a wonderful Savior? Thank you for clapping for Jesus? But is that all Jesus wants from us? No! Jesus tells us in the gospel that he has given us an example because he wants us to live like him. If we eat his body and drink his blood and he lives in us and we live in him, and we are one, then it is logical that we live like him. It is contradictory to receive the Eucharist and not want to live like Jesus. That is why he gave us a new commandment. He did not say it is a suggestion. No! It is a commandment: Love one another, the way I have loved you. What I have done for you, you must do for one another. This is the lesson he used the symbol of the washing of feet to communicate. Jesus calls on us not just to celebrate the Eucharist but to live an Eucharistic Live. Our gospel today teaches us that Living a Eucharistic life demands not only the ability to say I love you; but also the humility to say I am sorry. There are two things in the gospel that I would like to bring out for our reflection tonight:
    1.                   Jesus washed the feet of Judas: Jesus knew his enemy, but did not treat him like an enemy. He knew Judas wanted him dead; yet he still washed his feet. What does Jesus want to teach us by this? He teaches us that we cannot control what people will do, but we can control our reaction to what people do. Yes, we also know people who have hurt us, are we going to pay them back or are we going to wash their feet? Tonight we will wash each other's feet. If all your family and friends were here tonight, whose feet would you rather not wash and who will you not allow to wash your feet?
    2.                   Peter did not want Jesus to wash his feet: At times, in our Christian life, the challenge is not so much about how you give to others, especially if giving to others makes you happy and you receive praises for what you do. Rather, what seems very difficult, at times, is allowing others to serve you or receiving help from others. Beloved, at times, the best way to show love is to receive forgiveness. Later on in the passion story, Peter is going to need forgiveness and Jesus was preparing him for that. He was teaching Peter that the Christian life is not only about your ability to give love, but also about your humility to receive forgiveness. Beloved in Christ, we become lights of the world not only with our ability to say I love you but also with our humility to say I am sorry.
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  3. 5th Sunday of Lent-Year A
    Ezekiel 37:12-14
    Ps 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
    Rom 8:8-11
    Jn 11:1-45


    God Will Solve Your Problems in a Way That Brings Life To Others


    About ten years ago, I had to attend a best friend's wedding in a city, which was about three-hour drive from where I lived. I had no money for bus ticket and a gift for the couple so I decided I was going to fast and pray for a week and ask God to let somebody bring me money to buy the bus ticket and the gift I needed. After four days nothing happened. Six days nothing happened. So the night before the wedding I got so angry with God and began to complain and ask: “Where are you God and why are you not listening to my prayers?”  On the day of the wedding I told God: “Since you did not solve the problem, I am going to solve it my own way”. So I decided to go and stand by the roadside and beg somebody for a ride. After about an hour I saw a man who pulled aside towards me without me stopping him. He asked where I was going so I told him I needed a ride to the city. He offered to give me a ride. During our conversation, he asked what I was going to do and I told him about the wedding. Guess what.  He told me he was attending the same wedding ceremony I was going to and said he would be glad to give me a ride back. I was so ashamed and told him the entire story of how I was angry with God that day. Then he told me maybe I was an answer to his prayers because God had healed him from some sickness and he did not know what to do to thank God so he had prayed that morning that God would bring him somebody who needed help so he could do some charity as a way of thanking God. What really surprised me was that before we got to the place of the wedding he told me he had to stop by a gift shop and buy something for the couple and that I could pick up any gift and he would pay for that. See what God did? He did not answer my prayers the way I wanted because he had a better plan that would reveal his glory not only to me but also to this man who prayed to him.

    Beloved in Christ, maybe you don't need a bus ticket or a gift for your friend. But have you ever found yourself in a situation when things got so bad that you asked: “where are you God and why do you allow this to happen?” Perhaps you are going through some situation right now that makes you ask that question. Life can get very tough at times and you can feel abandoned. What do you do when you get to times like that? Our readings today respond to that question. As we get closer to the celebration of the passion of the Lord, the readings remind us of some important facts about life that we need to reflect on:


    1.      God never abandons us; suffering or chaos in life is not a sign of God’s absence. We need to remember how the world began. The book of Genesis reminds us that the very act of creation was God bringing order, goodness, and beauty out of chaos. That is what God is always up to: bringing good out of evil, hope, when all hope is gone. The first reading tells the story of the people of Israel when they were in exile in Babylon and life was extremely difficult for them. They had become like dry bones without any life. All hope was gone. That was when God gave the prophet Ezekiel a vision about the dry bones and promised that he would bring new life to his people: “I have promised, and I will do it”. What did he promise? To make all things new, to bring good out of evil, to bring order out of chaos through the power of his Spirit.


    2.      Remember that God’s Spirit lives in you. Our second reading tells us to remember that the Spirit who brings new life dwells in us and if we allow him, he will always bring life no matter how hopeless a situation might seem; even physical death will be turned into life.


    3.    The gospel teaches us that all sufferings and the chaos in our lives can lead to new life and reveal the glory of God. In the gospel, Jesus hears about the sickness of Lazarus and John tells us that because Jesus loves Lazarus so much, he delayed for two more days until Lazarus died. When you interpret this according to human wisdom, you may go like “really? That does not make sense at all because if you really love somebody that much when you hear that they are dying you don’t intentionally waste more time” So, why did Jesus do that? Because he was going to reveal God’s glory not only to Mary and Martha, but also to all the people in Bethany and to his disciples.  The people and the disciples all needed to come to new life. So it was not only Lazarus who was raised to new life. All the disciples, Mary, Martha, and all those who witnessed this miracle were raised to a new life of faith in God. They saw how much God cares about them and that God will not abandon them.


    Beloved in Christ, this mystery of God bringing new life is what we celebrate today in the Eucharist and will celebrate in a very special way at Easter. However, we are not celebrating these mysteries just to remember what God did centuries ago, but also to experience that same mystery in our own lives today. We do not only celebrate the sacrifice of Jesus, we are called to also become the bread that is broken for others by allowing God to solve our problems in a way that brings life not only to us but also to others. So beloved in Christ, I don’t know what troubles you have in your life right now. I don’t know the chaos in your life. I don’t know what brings tears into your eye. I don’t know your disappointments and how you think God is delaying. But I know one thing: God has not abandoned you. He will keep his promises to you but he will do it in a way that will bring life not only to you, but also to many more. Are you ready to be the bread that is broken for others? Are you ready to allow God to use your sufferings not only to bring you new life, but also to bring that new life to many more? Then hold on! Don’t give up!


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